Many of the top tennis players in the world chose to spend their off-season in exclusive resorts in the Maldives last winter. Given the nature of a gruelling schedule that affords precious little time to rest, few could begrudge them that.
Linda Noskova had earned that right, too, after a breakthrough year in which she reached her maiden WTA 1000 final in Beijing and rose to No13 in the world rankings before her 21st birthday. Yet, in December, while Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner posted pictures from pristine beaches, Noskova headed to the island of Zanzibar, off Tanzania, to spend a week volunteering at a school for underprivileged children.
Far from being a photo opportunity, Noskova slept on a bunk bed with three other volunteers in a non-air-conditioned room. “[Other players] were shocked. They didn’t even believe me,” she says. “A week before I was going, a few girls texted me like, ‘Is it happening or not?’ I’m like, ‘Yes, I’ve told you six or seven times, you don’t believe me.’
“It was a crazy idea to some of them. It had always been on my bucket list to volunteer abroad so when I wanted to plan my vacation, I decided I wanted to tick this one off my list.
“It was an incredible experience. I was helping with childcare and teaching. The kids were aged six to 11, there were around 300, and we just spent a lot of time together.
“[The accommodation was] pretty rough. Everybody thinks I was staying at a resort or something, but it was real conditions. I could’ve gone wherever but then I would’ve come back to the school where the kids don’t have a lot, so that wouldn’t feel fair.
“[Having] a different perspective helped me a lot through the last couple of weeks and months. Every time something doesn’t work out, my mind would kind of go back to the kids and be like, ‘OK, I have this rich lifestyle. What am I complaining about? I am healthy. I’m in a great position in life. What else do I need?’ ”
Noskova reached the fourth round of Wimbledon last summerGLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
The pursuit of ranking points can feel like life and death inside the tennis bubble, but Noskova has benefited from having an exceptionally mature outlook. Raised in Bystricka, a small Czech village, her own background was “not privileged at all” — Noskova’s father worked for a train company and her mother ran a clothing shop — nor was a professional tennis career ever part of a grand masterplan in a country that has produced a remarkable number of top players.
“[My parents] never really played, only as amateurs, but I got on court and just tried to swing at some balls and they were like, ‘OK, we’re going to put you in a tennis school and get you some lessons,’ so that’s where it all started when I was around six,” she says.
Noskova was a natural talent and developed quickly in the national system, but it was only after she won the French Open girls’ title in 2021 that she truly believed she could make it as a professional.
“That was a big eye-opening moment for everybody, even for me,” she says. The experience of coach Tomas Krupa was crucial in helping her navigate the transition from the junior ranks — his past clients include Radek Stepanek, Tomas Berdych, Jiri Vesely and Barbora Strycova. Noskova qualified for her main-draw debut at Roland Garros in 2022, aged 17, and briefly became the youngest player ranked inside the top 100.
Noskova after her comeback victory over Swiatek at the 2024 Australian OpenAndy Cheung/Getty Images
In 2024, Noskova claimed the biggest victory of her career over the world No1 at the time, Iga Swiatek, en route to the Australian Open quarter-finals, while reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, where Noskova lost to eventual finalist Amanda Anisimova, proving that she can be a threat on every surface.
“I’ve always been kind of finding my path. It’s never really been a huge breakthrough. I’m just trying to stay as consistent and steady as possible and improve from there, and the goals are obvious: everybody wants to be [world] No1 and win a grand-slam, so those are there as well, but I just want to feel good on the court and the results will come,” Noskova says.
Will she still volunteer if she reaches those heights? “For sure,” she says. “I would definitely do it again. I think I will [go somewhere else], but I am planning to go back to Africa next year.”
Her career at a glance
Rank 13
Best:12 (January 2026)
Titles 1 (500 event in Monterrey)
Grand-slam best Aus Open QF 2024
Prize money $5.3million